Composite lath.



A. P. WHITE.

COMPOSITE LATH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPI. Io. 1914.

Patented Aug. 20, 19l8.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l A. P. WHITE.

COMPOSITE LATH.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. IO. |914.

.Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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hC/ ff/WM5@ ALEXANDER IP. WHITE, 0F CALDWEILANEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

Application filed September 10, 1914. Serial N o. 861,116.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER P. WHITE, a citizen of the United States,residin at Caldwell, in the county of Essex and Sgtate Iof New Jersey,have invented certain new and ,useful Improvements in Composite Laths,of which the following is aspecifica tion.

This invention relates to a novel building material to be used chieiyfor lathing, and

- Vits object is to provide an improved and side thereof.

cheaper article of this nature thato can be readily handled andtransported, and which possesses strength without great weight.

A special object` of the invention is to provide a composite lathconstruction having novel means for strengthenin the product incombination with an artiliclal stone body element, while at the sametime imparting thereto improved facilityfor absorbing and assimilatingexcess moisture in-such a manner as to hold the body of the lath toproper form and condition during the setting of the plaster, therebyinsuring the drying of the latter with an even surface, both on wallsand ceilings.

Other objects will become apparent as the nature of the invention isbetter understood, and in order to illustrate the essential featuresthereof, a few practical embodiments are shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l illustrating the thread-reinforcementas consisting of a sheet of coarsely woven fabric, such as cheese cloth,jute fabric, or burlap.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a piece of the completedmaterial showing the stone body element incorporated or consolidatedwith -the fibrous body sheet and the fibrous thread-reinforcement.

Fig. 4f is a view similar to Figs. l and 2, illustrating a single-plybody sheet carrying the thread or fabric reinforcement upon one Fig. 5is a sectional view of. a nished piece of the product showing the stonebody 91611161113 consolidated with the elements shown in Fig. 4, theview also illustrating the feature of having the stone body elementformed with projecting ribs upon one side of the product.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a modification of the element wherein metalwall holding members or rods are employed, the view illustrating asingle-ply body sheet, a threadreinforcement upon one side thereof, andthe metal holding rods upon the thread-reinforcement. y l

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a piece of the finished product Aembodyingthe construction of Fig. 6, and a part of which view illustrates theapplication thereof to a wall or ceiling.

Fig. 8 is a detail plan view illustratingy a modification that may beresorted to as to the form of the metallic elements or members of thearticle.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

At present, a form of lathin which includes paper in sheet orm combinedwith an artificial stone substance, thus producing a composite body, andthe present invention proposes to effect Van improveis made ment inlathin of this kind by combining f therewith a brousthread-reinforcement which not only strengthens thev product throughoutand renders the same more iexible and tenacious, but also exercises anovel .mechanical function which assists in holding the lath to properform and condition whilethe plaster is drying out. This combination ofelements lgives to the new material structural characteristics whichenable it to also withstand the shocksof transportationt and the roughhandling to which all crude forms of building material are of necessitysubjected.

., For illustrative purposes, reference'is now shownu in the drawings.In these drawings,

`the reference letter a designates the fibrous made to the embodimentsof the invention rier for the stone body element, designated by thereference letter b. Thethread-reinforcement which is consolidated withthese elements to make the composite lath is designated by the referenceletter c, and may consist of single unwoven threads of fibrous tmaterial such as cotton or jute, or may conslst of a sheet of coarselywoven fabrlc, such as commercial cheese cloth, jute fabric, or burlap.Both forms of this reinforcement are shownin the drawings, Fig. 1illustrating single unwoven threads arranged in 5 close parallelrelation and unconnected, and Fig. 2 showing a layer of the threadswoven into a fabric, so it will be understood that the present inventionis not limited to either of these forms of the thread-reinforcement,

it onlyT being essential for the purposes of' the present invention thatfiber threads of such a character, and in such a number, be

employedto lend to the structure the intended additional reinforcementas well as providing means for absorbing excess mois` Y ture in a mannerto relieve the paper material from the deleterious effects thereof.

It is also proposed to combine the threadreinforcement with the paperbody sheet in such a manner thatthe artificial stone substance may bedeposited on both sides of the reinforced body sheet, and the stonesurface coating on one side of the article united through the Ibodysheet and the meshes of the thread-reinforcement, with the stone surfacecoating on the opposite side of the article, thereby forming ahomogeneous stone body element.

In explanation of the methods which may be pursuedin making the newarticle, it will be observed by reference to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of thedrawings that the fibrous body sheet a preferably consists of paper insheet form v of a strong variety, as well as being porous so as to bepermeable to the stone-solution.

On one face of this fibrous body sheet is placed thethread-reinforcement c consisting of the connected or unconnected brousthreads referred to, and in order to provide a firm attachment of thesaid reinforcement to the body sheet a suitable adhesive is employed forthis purpose,such .for example as Y silicate of soda containing say fiveper cent.

of oxid of zinc. Then, over the thread-reinforcement c is superimposed asecond paper or equivalent body sheet a, 'and after breaking up the unitor body thus formed by a multiplicity of perforations d, the same hasapplied thereto an artificial stone compound by either immersing thebody in a /stone solution or applying the latter with a spray. Ifnecessary, the consolidation or union of these various elements with theartiicial stone may be assisted by mechanical pressure in a press orbetween rolls or otherwise, the result being a composite sheet havingthe-quality of a flexible stone.

Various substances and compounds may j be employed for the stone bodyelement of the material, and it is therefore to be understood that thegeneral designation or terms stone compound or stone element employedherein are intended to include any suitable cementitious compound orsubstance which is used in a plastic or soft state, and

will on drying and setting become hard and take the nature of stone.Many of the artiicial stone substances, well known, are available forthe purpose. For instance, a mixture ofvsilicate of soda, infusorialearth, and oxid of iron will answer. To make this compound, ordinarycommercial liquid silicate of soda is mixed with equal parts of ironoxid and infusorial earth forming a paste of the consistency of ordinarymolasses. The mixture may be improved by a slight quantity of zinc oxid,say five lper cent., and when the zinc is used the iron may be omitted.It will of course be understood that other artificial stone compositionsmay be satisfactorily employed to form the stone body element.

As already indicated, the unit or body formed Iby combining the threadreinforcement with a paper body sheet is broken up by a number ofperforations, which not only provide ke ing means' for .the plaster butalso lessen t e tendency of the paper to swell and warp when the wetplaster 1s applied. This tendency of the pa er to distortion is verymaterially reduce by breaking up the surfacethereof with theperforations, since the expansive capabilities of the small or dividedareas are notnearly so great as if the paper material was left unbrokenor intact. Furthermore, the provision of the perforations in the papersheet enables the stone substance to ll into the same and integrallyunite the stone coatings on opposite sidesof the sheet, and in thuscompletely enveloping the reinforced paper body sheet, the stonesubstancewill render the paper substantially moisture-proof or betteradapted to resist the undesirable effects of moisture. Nevertheless, inorder to more l efectually safeguard the product against the action ofmoisture on the paper body sheet or sheets, the present inventionincludes the thread-reinforcement which mechanically takes care of anyfugitive or excess moisture as well as directly contributing to thestrength of the product. In explanation of this mechanical action of thethread-reinforcement, it will be noted that when the wet plaster isapplied to the lath,

such moisture as may penetrate the pores of the stone or laper willlikewise reach the iibrous threa s. This moisture will cause the paperfibers to swell, but it will also cause the chords of thethread-reinforcement to shorten or contract, thereby drawingsuchreinforcement taut and maintaining a flat even surface until theplaster has f set and hardened by the departure of the moisture. Inshort, if 'by reason. of the moisture there is any tendency in the paperlayer or layers toswell or sag, the tightening of thethread-reinforcement will correct the same and thus maintain the articlein proper form and condition.

To illustrate more fully the general scope of the invention reference ismade to Figs. A and 5 of the drawings wherein is shown a form of lathconsisting of a single ply paper body sheet a to one side of which isadhesively fastened the fibrous thread-reinforcement c, the same beinglled and covcred by the stone body element b in the manner and for thepurpose already explained. Fig. 5 is also illustrative of a detail ofconstruction that may be employed to advantage, namely the formation ofthe stone body element with integral projections c forming externalstone ribs which impart added strength to the article, as well asincreasing the e'ective plaster holding area thereof. It is noted inthis connection that owing to the stone character of the surfaces of theproduct, plaster will tenaciously adhere to it without the necessity ofproviding the locking and attaching means commonly known as keys. At thesame time the material, when used for lathing, can be fastened to thestudding or furring by nails, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

In making the new material, the same may also be combined with metalwall-holding members f as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. Thesewall holding members preferably consist of metal rods of suitable gagearranged at distances of from three to ve inches apart and extendingparallel from one end of the sheet to the other. The said holdingmembers or rods f may be temporarily held to the reinforced body sheetby staples or equivalent fastening means g prior to the application ofthe stone substance thereto, but then lbecome an intimate part of thestructure giving added strength thereto as well as constitutingpermanent wall-holding members after being placed in position on a wallor ceiling and the plaster applied. In using the metal holding membersor rods f, the same may be combined with key openings h which entirelypierce the lath adjacent the rods so as to permit the plaster to passthrou h said openings and engage about the ro s. To more eli'ectuallyaccomplish this result, the key openings h may be in the form of slotsand the metal rods arranged in a manner to cross a number of these slotsso as to be dil rectly exposed to the plaster entering the same. This isplainly shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings.

Although for the purpose of clearness, certain steps for the productionof the new material 'have been explained in detail, it is obvious thatthe desired results can be accomplished in other ways. For instance,instead of using the paper `in the convenient sheet form and cementingtogether two separate sheets with the thread reinforcement between them,the paper may be used in the plastic form and have thethread-reinforcement incorporated therein before being worked intosheets. But regardless of the particular process employed and the orderLof the steps thereof, the essential features of the invention willremain the same in the novel combination of the paper body sheet, thethreadfreinforcement therefor, and the stone body element, withlorwithout the feature of metal holding rods carried therewith. Also, withrespect to the metallic elements of the article, these may be'arrangedin different ways without affecting the invention, for example as shownin Fig. 8 of the drawings.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the novel features of theinvention will be readily understood without further description, andthat various changes in the use ofmaterials and their arrangement, suchas fall within the scope of the appended claims, may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof the invention.

I claim:

1. A building lath composed of a fibrous body sheet, absorbentreinforcing threads extending throughout the structure and united withthe body sheet, and an artiiicial stone element having a bondingengagement with both the body sheet and said threads.

2. A structure for lathing consisting of a perforated paper sheet,ibrous reinforcing threads extending throughout the structure andexposed at the perforations, and an articial stone element covering thesheet and extending through the perforations.

3. A structure for lathing consisting of metallic holding members forthe plaster or equivalent material, a perforated fibrous sheet carriedwith said members, fibrous reinforcing threads extending throughout thestructure and united with the sheet, and an artificial stone elementcovering and engaging the metallic members and fibrous sheet andextending through the perforations of the latter.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

ALEXANDER P. WHITE.

Witnesses:

C. N. FARME, J. A. CLARKE.

